Book review of "The path to power" Thatcher's autobiography
The milk snatcher, the hoarder, the ultimate conservative: The Iron Lady’s Autobiography “The Path to Power”Margaret Thatcher is one of the most, if not the most, controversially discussed and successful woman in modern politics. But how did the daughter of a grocery store owner and student of chemistry in Oxford become the first female and longest serving prime minister of the 20th century? “The Path to Power” is divided in two parts. The Iron Lady recounts the events from her date of birth on 13th October 1925 until winning the election on 4th of May 1979 in the first part. The second part is Thatcher’s examination of European politics after parting as prime minister in 1990.
The book delivers for the buyer what it says in the title. Readers who are longing for more detailed information about the Falkland War or the IRA hunger strikes in Mazen prison should opt for “The Downing Street Years” to avoid disappointment. Those who want to know how her strong distaste for work unions developed and why she reacted overly strong to acts of terrorism will find the answers between the lines of these 606 pages.
The descriptions of how a shadow cabinet is formed and Thatcher's comments on UK nationalism in contrary to European unionism were the most interesting and revealing bits of this work for me. All in all I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how to become a more effective leader while at the same time regretting that I didn’t get “The Downing Street Years” instead.
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